Feeling stuck or disconnected? How to come back to your body

Often, the root of disconnection lies in long-held emotions, stress, and unresolved trauma, sometimes going back as far as childhood. 

Why do we disconnect from our bodies?

You may have heard of the fight, flight, or freeze response. While these are natural survival mechanisms, sometimes the body holds onto them long after a stressful event has passed. When this happens, the nervous system stays on high alert, and we begin to lose touch with our physical sensations.

Physical tension, chronic stress, and emotional holding patterns can also deepen this disconnect. Over time, it can feel like the body and mind are moving through life separately.

What might you experience when reconnecting?

As you begin to tune back into your body, new and sometimes unfamiliar sensations may arise. This is your body’s way of communicating and starting to release what it no longer needs to hold.

People often report feelings and experiences such as:

• a deep sense of calm and ease
• warmth, tingling, or lightness in the body
• a sense of acceptance and peace
• letting go of tension or emotional heaviness
• feeling balanced and harmonised
• increased energy and vitality
• a greater sense of being alive and present
• seeing colours, images, or patterns
• memories resurfacing
• emotional release or clarity
• a sense of spiritual connection
• heightened self- and body-awareness

Everyone’s experience is different — there’s no right or wrong.

Simple practices to reconnect with your body

Coming back to the body doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few gentle, grounding techniques you can try:

1. Conscious breathing

Slow, mindful breathing calms the nervous system and helps anchor you in your body.

• take a deep breath in
• exhale in 10 short breaths

Or

• inhale for six seconds
• hold for three seconds
• exhale for eight seconds

Repeat for five to 10 minutes daily to settle your system and soften your breath.

2. Body-based practices

Incorporating gentle physical practices into your routine can work wonders:

Yoga, Tai Chi, body scan meditations, and breathwork — These practices gently guide you back to your body and help regulate your energy.

Tapping and self-massage — Tap your head and neck lightly with your fingertips, or massage the base of your skull, around your ears, and down your neck. Do this for five to 10 minutes, then pause to notice how you feel.

Clenching and releasing — Tighten your feet, toes, and hands for 10 seconds, then release. This grounds you in your body and can help reduce adrenaline.

Cold showers — Gradually turn the water from warm to cold, staying in for one to two minutes. This practice awakens the body and supports nervous system balance.

Massage, reflexology, or Indian head massage — Soothing treatments like these can help release tension and support deep relaxation.

3. Breathwork for emotional release

This simple breathwork technique helps open up the energetic pathways of the body and release held emotions.

How to practice:

• Find a quiet, comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed.
• Lie down on your back and put on a playlist of three of your favourite songs.
• Close your eyes and begin breathing through your mouth.
• Inhale into your lower belly.
• Take a second inhale into your heart.
• Exhale naturally, like a sigh.

Continue for the first two songs, paying attention to the sensations in your body.
If you feel tension or tightness, gently place your awareness there and breathe into it.
When the third song begins, relax your breath and breathe through your nose. Let your body settle and stay there as long as you need.

This practice may bring a sense of lightness and calm, though it can also stir up deeper emotions. Both are part of the healing process.

Be gentle with yourself

We live in a culture that promotes quick fixes, but true healing takes time. Reconnecting with your body is a long, unfolding process. Some shifts may feel immediate; others take time to surface. Pay attention to the small changes, and be kind to yourself throughout.

Every step you take towards reconnecting with your body matters. Trust the process, and know that you are moving in the right direction, even if it sometimes feels subtle.

I hope this article offers you some gentle support and inspiration on your journey.